Okay what I should have said it that it is not the same as riding a regular breed of horse. Draft horses are broader and yes many people such as vikings and the like have ridden them and we can as well but it is not as comfortable for those of us who haven't lots of riding experience. I stand corrected!

We mourn the loss of Borin who passed away in March 2020 I believe Calma she passed away on 07/05/19 ! RIP dear lady! Primula Baggins passed away on 02/27/19Cockrobin has passed away on 02/18/2019 Rest in the arms of Jesus my friend!oldtoby we will always remember you and your wit and smile! Love you my friend! RIP 1/20/18

Always in our memories, vison, Alex, Rowanberry and Watcher! Our world is a little dimmer without your smiles!

A tribute to Cynthia 11/14/2005

For my beloved mother who has joined my daddy with Jesus. 1/11/20 For my dad who now resides with the Lord! 05/11/16 I love you mom and daddy and will see you again someday in Glory!

The lifespan of a horse varies from breed to breed. Thoroughbreds don't live to be much older than 20. I've know draft horses that lived well into their 30's. Dale Evan's horse, Buttermilk, live to be 42, which is pretty exceptional.

Ponies do tend to live longer than horses, but size isn't everything when it comes to determining longevity. The Lippizaners, which are only slightly smaller than thoroughbreds, mature slowly and generally live into their 30's

As for the video with the draft horses, it looked like the horse got the trace chain caught on its shoe. It's possible the shoe pulled partially loose, or the chain caught on one of the sharp caulks that are put on the shoe to give the horse a better grip. Being flight animals, horses will fight until they exhaust themselves if they find their legs are caught, and they can't run.

I have a set of draft horseshoes that my dad was given by a blacksmith for horseshoe pitching. They only weigh about a pound each.

Sunsilver wrote:I have a set of draft horseshoes that my dad was given by a blacksmith for horseshoe pitching. They only weigh about a pound each. I guess they were meant for a SMALL draft horse...

LOL Sunsilver! Actually, horseshoes made for the game (pitching) are much lighter than horseshoes made for putting on working horses. I think the regulation weights run from about a pound up to 2.78 pounds or thereabouts.

And Iris!! Strap one to each foot!!

My uncle had a pair of very old draft horses on the farm, I think they were some sort of Belgians or something. I'm not sure how old they were at the time (I was just a wee child and he'd retired them a number of years earlier) but I could ride them by sitting crosslegged on their backs, with plenty of "horse" on either side, LOL.

Of course, the term "ride" could only loosely be applied to me sitting there like a human pimple while the horse plodded around the pasture, stopping often to graze and stare over the fence.

Scribbles, these are REAL horseshoes, like they used before the game became so regulated. The blacksmith also made a pair of stakes for my dad. We spent many happy hours ptching those shoes when we were kids I still have them out in the garage.

Weston was home to one of the last working blacksmith shops in Canada. My dad knew the owner, Mr. Mobbs, and we used to stop there frequently to chat.

I'll never forget the day he had a REAL stagecoach in the shop, shipped by rail all the way from Hollywood, so he could fix the iron-shod wheels. He let my brother and I climb all over it, and pretend we were back in the wild west! It was SO cool!

Sunsilver wrote:Scribbles, these are REAL horseshoes, like they used before the game became so regulated.

I'm sorry Sunsilver, I didn't mean to imply that the horse shoes weren't real. I just couldn't imagine that they'd ever be put on a working draft horse if they were that light. The shoes just wouldn't be heavy-duty enough to bear the weight of the animal . . .

And how utterly COOL to live so close to and actually KNOW a real Blacksmith!! Wow. What a fantastic afternoon you must have had with your brother in that stagecoach . . . now those are the kinds of things that kids these days really are missing out on with the computer game/video explosion. *sigh* And I've read recently that many municipalities are tearing down their outdoor playgrounds - for fear of lawsuits if kids get hurt. Ikey mikey . . . aren't skinned knees and stubbed toes badges of honour any more? :D

Egads! Now, I love horses, but I'm afraid I draw the line at the front door. Horses belong in a barn . . . but I bet the book is an utter scream.

I read some reviews on Amazon and they remarked that the woman has created more problems for herself and the horse than solved. The horse doesn't know how to live/interract with other horses and goes through separation anxiety if she leaves. She's a lawyer now, but had to make special arrangements for her horse to come visit her while she was in school. Also, she feeds the horse a TON of junk food. We give ours treats every so often of candy or something, but just a little bit at a time...they're just as happy with grain and grass.

Some days are grumpier than others...

For Calma For Cock-Robin For Toby

May we never forget them.

Cats were once worshiped in Egypt. They have never forgotten this.

"They ask me what I'd like written about me when I'm gone. I hope they write I made Penn State a better place, not just that I was a good football coach." -- Joe Paterno

Sunsilver wrote:Scribbles, these are REAL horseshoes, like they used before the game became so regulated.

I'm sorry Sunsilver, I didn't mean to imply that the horse shoes weren't real. I just couldn't imagine that they'd ever be put on a working draft horse if they were that light. The shoes just wouldn't be heavy-duty enough to bear the weight of the animal . . .

And how utterly COOL to live so close to and actually KNOW a real Blacksmith!! Wow. What a fantastic afternoon you must have had with your brother in that stagecoach . . . now those are the kinds of things that kids these days really are missing out on with the computer game/video explosion. *sigh* And I've read recently that many municipalities are tearing down their outdoor playgrounds - for fear of lawsuits if kids get hurt. Ikey mikey . . . aren't skinned knees and stubbed toes badges of honour any more? :D

Egads! Now, I love horses, but I'm afraid I draw the line at the front door. Horses belong in a barn . . . but I bet the book is an utter scream.

Boy... Someone said that first image was photoshopped, and I can certainly see the line and the blur on the tail that would make someone think so... but I also found another picture that looks like the same horse, the same people, the same angle of the sun and just about the same location -- which would lend me to believe it probably wasn't photoshopped after all.

I don't think it's motion blur, but I do think that there are other explanations for it as opposed to Photoshopping.

And yes, Akhal-Tekes are known for their fine, metallic coats.

<-- Celebrating Science in the TVM!

Life is short; break the rules, forgive quickly; kiss slowly; love truly; laugh uncontrollably; and never regret anything that made you smile. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Grab a chance and you won't be sorry for the might-have-beens. - Arthur Ransome

Just because I have the vocabulary of a well-educated sailor doesn't mean I'm not a lady.

We mourn the loss of Borin who passed away in March 2020 I believe Calma she passed away on 07/05/19 ! RIP dear lady! Primula Baggins passed away on 02/27/19Cockrobin has passed away on 02/18/2019 Rest in the arms of Jesus my friend!oldtoby we will always remember you and your wit and smile! Love you my friend! RIP 1/20/18

Always in our memories, vison, Alex, Rowanberry and Watcher! Our world is a little dimmer without your smiles!

A tribute to Cynthia 11/14/2005

For my beloved mother who has joined my daddy with Jesus. 1/11/20 For my dad who now resides with the Lord! 05/11/16 I love you mom and daddy and will see you again someday in Glory!

I think it's just brushed over on to the left hand side of the horse, so you can't see it. According to Wikipedia their mane and tails are quite sparse (presumably because they are a desert breed and therefore don't need much hair -although saying that Arabians have a decent mane).

<-- Celebrating Science in the TVM!

Life is short; break the rules, forgive quickly; kiss slowly; love truly; laugh uncontrollably; and never regret anything that made you smile. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Grab a chance and you won't be sorry for the might-have-beens. - Arthur Ransome

Just because I have the vocabulary of a well-educated sailor doesn't mean I'm not a lady.

It could well have been Tolkien's intention that he meant Shadowfax to be what most people would wrongly call a 'white' horse (he was a clever bloke after all... and was probably well aware of the grey/white conventions of horse colourings!).

But, as I've always said, Shadowfax would be a stupid name for a 'white' horse.

Also, Tolkien described the name Shadowfax as an anglicized form of Old English Sceadu-faex 'having shadow-grey mane (and coat)'.

And while equine-parlance is one thing, Tolkien in his books describes certain horses as white (Asfaloth for example), but Shadowfax is always "grey" or shining like silver. So while a "grey" horse can look white to the eye (considering equine-parlance), should there not also be some colour distinction between Tolkien's horses -- between those which are white (and look white to the eye) and others who are grey, especially "shadow-grey"?

"A great dark-grey horse was brought to Aragorn, and he mounted it." This is Hasufel, Old English hasu "dusky, grey, ashen" "... but their captains and chieftains were upon horses, white and grey." Of Tuor And His Coming To Gondolin, really the unfinished Fall of Gondolin from the early 1950s, Unfinished Tales

I don't doubt that Tolkien was aware of horse parlance, but I still think he meant to draw a distinction in colour (to they eye) between his white and grey horses.